Drupal is an open-source content management framework for websites. It allows developers to build sites faster and is used by many of the world’s top online brands.
As with other open-source projects, Drupal is developed and maintained by an online community. It consists of a number of core modules that provide features like security, menus, blogging and RSS feeds. The modular nature of Drupal means that it can be extended by adding other modules. Advanced features like polls can be added, so using Drupal your website can be as simple or as complex as you need it to be.
It can handle many different kinds of content, and unlike some other content management systems, it can handle many functions without the need for additional plugins or scripts to be installed. In addition, there are a large number of different themes and templates built by the community that allow the look and feel of the site to be changed and customised to suit your requirements.
Ease of Use
One of the big advantages of Drupal is that the platform is very easy to use. Ongoing maintenance of a site can therefore be carried out by administrators, leaving the Drupal developer free to concentrate on more complex tasks. Users can be split into groups and given permissions to manage specific sections of a website – for example, different brands could be permitted to manage their own pages within a corporate website.
It also offers considerable flexibility so that the content can be delivered in a specific way and the site’s keywords can be optimised to ensure good performance in search engine results. Developers can create the functions you need for specific tasks, but using Drupal means that you’re able to adapt the site as your requirements change.
Content can be edited using built-in tools and images added via a simple drag-and-drop process. A preview feature lets admins see how their changes will look before they make them live. Sites are structured in such a way that it’s easy to search information and to re-task existing content if required.
Accessibility
Drupal uses HTML5 to ensure that it’s compatible with a wide range of devices and can display dynamic content. It’s also compatible with the WAI-ARIA standard, designed to increase the accessibility of web pages and make them more available to people with disabilities. Drupal supports a wide range of language options too, which has contributed to its popularity around the globe.
Drupal is often chosen by companies that find their websites have outgrown other content management systems such as WordPress. Because it’s open-source and doesn’t require a licence, Drupal can be used by anyone and is easy to download and try out for yourself. In addition, it has the advantage of backing from a vast developer community. On the product’s home page you’ll find a vast amount of documentation as well as discussion boards and chat forums, so there’s no shortage of support if you need it. It’s little wonder then that it’s become popular with web developers and businesses around the world.